John Archbishop And Hieromartyr Of Riga 3 of 3

The crime was never properly investigated or explained. But the people knew
the truth. At the funeral the whole city was in mourning; 100,000 people - about
a quarter of the population of Riga - were in the streets, and over one hundred
Orthodox priests together with several representatives of other faiths were
present.

A Russian student, M.I. Dobrotvorsky, saw the archbishop, vested and
surrounded by unknown worshippers with shining faces, praying beside his body.
The body of the archbishop was accompanied by a vast crowd from the cathedral to
the Holy Protection Cemetery, where a small chapel was later raised over the
grave. Archbishop John died for Christ and the Orthodox Faith on October 12,
1934.